The workers, based at the The Royal Yacht, were brought to the Island by recruitment firm GR8, which helps companies find staff from colleges in countries such as Bulgaria, Barbados, the Philippines and Rwanda.
Earlier this year, Simon Soar, chief executive of the Jersey Hospitality Association, revealed that a ‘wage war’ had broken out between firms in the industry after the job market was decimated by Covid and Brexit.
He described the labour shortage as ‘the worst he had ever seen’ and said some establishments may be forced to scale back their operations as a result.
The situation does not appear to have improved, with 187 hospitality vacancies being advertised on the government’s jobs website yesterday.
So far this season, 16 staff recruited through GR8 have found work in Jersey and Guernsey, with a further two in transit and 28 waiting for work permits to come through.
The new arrivals from Africa, who came here under a permit scheme for workers from outside the Common Travel Area, were graduates from the Kenya Utalii College and, due to Covid-19 restrictions, each spent ten days in isolation in Ghana, which is amber on the travel list, before travelling to the Island.
They were tested on arrival in Jersey and on days five and ten. They all self-isolated in the Island until they received their day-five negative test result.
GR8 managing director Lee Madden said: ‘Over the last few years, we have supported a large number of Kenyans who have come to work in the Channel Islands, but the last 18 months have made the process of bringing them over extremely difficult.
‘When Kenya turned red, we found a way to bring people over that was safe, cost effective and provided the industry with dedicated and professional team members.’
Claudio Abreu, head of operations at The Royal Yacht, added: ‘It has been extremely difficult to find the right people to work in our industry, but we are fortunate that there are routes still available to bring people over.’
With Brexit creating tougher restrictions on EU nationals moving to the Island, a team of Filipino workers have been drafted in to work in the agricultural industry.
Elsewhere, eight staff have been seconded from the Lone Star Hotel in Barbados to its sister establishment, the St Brelade’s Bay Hotel.
